FEED for all?

[missnu01]

I plan on making use of cover crops in at least half our acreage every season...I figure that will help to keep my poultry feed costs low. Poultry is all I have to feed though...ducks, turkeys, and of course chickens. I am going to cover most of our place in clover and buckwheat this spring...then in fall it will be oats and winter peas...then winter wheat for winter. It won't keep me from having to buy feed...but should allow me to buy much less.

 

[countrygirl74]

Looks like you got a lot of great information from previous posters.... just wanted to add that friends of ours feed their livestock guardian dogs meat from the other livestock they are raising - mostly they just keep breeding rabbits solely for dog food.

 

[PFSfarmer]

14 acres would be a great start. Adding lots of organic matter over time can help. There is no substitute for rain.
The more diverse your pasture the better.
By pasture, I meant to add earlier, is anything growing out on your property that your animals can choose from. I did not mean a fescue field.

We have natural growing bermuda and coastal and at times spreads like wild fire. It always seems to do that every where we don want it.

 

[PFSfarmer]

I plan on making use of cover crops in at least half our acreage every season...I figure that will help to keep my poultry feed costs low. Poultry is all I have to feed though...ducks, turkeys, and of course chickens. I am going to cover most of our place in clover and buckwheat this spring...then in fall it will be oats and winter peas...then winter wheat for winter. It won't keep me from having to buy feed...but should allow me to buy much less.

Great idea. Can I ask where are you located at and how much land do you have?

 

[PFSfarmer]

Looks like you got a lot of great information from previous posters.... just wanted to add that friends of ours feed their livestock guardian dogs meat from the other livestock they are raising - mostly they just keep breeding rabbits solely for dog food.

Now theres an idea.

 

[Talihofarms]

I agree with the 50# is not the way to go for sure. Be nice if there was one feed for all. $480 a ton....That is bout what it is at this place. This place is also 2 hours from me. How close is yours.

I have mine delivered.
However, the mill is 7 miles away.
I have another 2 mills within 15 miles but they do not sell organic feed.
I also have large grain operations down the street. 1/2 mile.
We used to purchase the corn screenings from the drying.
That is around $100.00 a ton. (GMO corn)

The closest you will get to universal feed mix, would be to purchase the corn,sbm and base for the individual species of animal.
Then mix your own.
However you will need to buy a separate base for, poultry, swine,beef,cow,lamb, as each has its own ratios and admixtures.

 

[PFSfarmer]

I have mine delivered.
However, the mill is 7 miles away.
I have another 2 mills within 15 miles but they do not sell organic feed.
I also have large grain operations down the street. 1/2 mile.
We used to purchase the corn screenings from the drying.
That is around $100.00 a ton. (GMO corn)

The closest you will get to universal feed mix, would be to purchase the corn,sbm and base for the individual species of animal.
Then mix your own.
However you will need to buy a separate base for, poultry, swine,beef,cow,lamb, as each has its own ratios and admixtures.

I was kickin this around on another forum or 3 and best I see so far is to have a few bins that will hold 500lbs or so and get wheat, barley, oats, and corn of course all GMO free and then mix your own with a few added little things here and there that you can probably just buy in a bag or something. Then maybe we can get the bulk feed needed then. I dunno. I think there is an answer to this all for one feed, but may have to add a little of this here or there to each breed, but I'm not givin up on the all in one yet.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You're getting there but my advice is to do your research on the nutritional requirements of each species. You probably wouldn't need that many grains for your base.
The other thing is that each grain or legume also have negatives that affect digestion so if you want the best from your animals I think you have a lot of homework to do.
There are places to get the supplements in bulk too.
Some of the feedmills I've talked to that used to mix their own, quit doing so because they couldn't get through those minor ingredients before they went bad. Someone feeding 100 chickens wouldn't have a chance to. I wanted to do it but I keep between 50 and 100 and decided to stick with bag and rotate pastures.\

Over the last 100 years there has been a ton of research into livestock nutrition and I believe they've pretty well got it nailed down. It's tough reinventing the wheel.
Missing one of the essential trace elements, whether mineral or vitamin can have serious implications.
Again, good pasture on rich soil can cover a multitude of sins.

 

[PFSfarmer]

You're getting there but my advice is to do your research on the nutritional requirements of each species. You probably wouldn't need that many grains for your base.
The other thing is that each grain or legume also have negatives that affect digestion so if you want the best from your animals I think you have a lot of homework to do.
There are places to get the supplements in bulk too.
Some of the feedmills I've talked to that used to mix their own, quit doing so because they couldn't get through those minor ingredients before they went bad. Someone feeding 100 chickens wouldn't have a chance to. I wanted to do it but I keep between 50 and 100 and decided to stick with bag and rotate pastures.\

Over the last 100 years there has been a ton of research into livestock nutrition and I believe they've pretty well got it nailed down. It's tough reinventing the wheel.
Missing one of the essential trace elements, whether mineral or vitamin can have serious implications.
Again, good pasture on rich soil can cover a multitude of sins.

That reinventing the wheel thing has me at this point. If I have 4 different species and they make a mix for each species then instead of buying 3-5 different grains we maybe able to just buy 500lbs of 4 different kind of already made mixes. Now how long will it keep. I am thinking as of the moment my storage would be 55 gal drums/barrels.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Another thing to consider doing is to buy whole grain and a grinder then grinding as you need it.
Ground grains loses nutrients and flavor quickly. Stale ground grain not only doesn't provide nutrients but the animals also shun it.
Whole grain when kept dry and cool stays good a long time.